The periodicity and recurrence of solar eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share a very similar geometry. The two eclipses occur at the same node[1] with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. Thus, the Saros is useful for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 to 13 centuries and contains 70 or more eclipses. Every saros series begins with a number of partial eclipses near one of Earth's polar regions. The series will then produce several dozen central[2] eclipses before ending with a group of partial eclipses near the opposite pole. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.
Solar eclipses of Saros 104 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0470 Apr 17. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 1714 May 13. The total duration of Saros series 104 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0470 Apr 17 10:26:56 TD Last Eclipse = 1714 May 13 18:39:35 TD Duration of Saros 104 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 104 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 104 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 41.4% |
| Annular | A | 41 | 58.6% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 0 | 0.0% |
Umbral eclipses (annular, total and hybrid) can be further classified as either: 1) Central (two limits), 2) Central (one limit) or 3) Non-Central (one limit). The statistical distribution of these classes in Saros series 104 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 104 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 39 | 95.1% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 104: 7P 41A 22P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 104 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 104 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0957 Feb 02 | 08m57s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0614 Jul 12 | 02m41s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1335 Sep 17 | - | 0.91345 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0470 Apr 17 | - | 0.08666 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 104. A description or explanation of each parameter listed in the catalog can be found in Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.
Several fields in the catalog link to web pages or files containing additional information for each eclipse (for the years -1999 through +3000). The following gives a brief explanation of each link.
For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Animation of Saros 104.
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat Long Alt Width Dur.
s ° ° ° km
05867 -34 0470 Apr 17 10:26:56 5973 -18920 Pb -1.4981 0.0867 71.0S 103.9E 0
05910 -33 0488 Apr 27 17:36:45 5796 -18697 P -1.4368 0.1983 70.3S 17.3W 0
05954 -32 0506 May 09 00:40:11 5620 -18474 P -1.3709 0.3179 69.5S 136.5W 0
05998 -31 0524 May 19 07:37:25 5443 -18251 P -1.3006 0.4452 68.7S 106.5E 0
06043 -30 0542 May 30 14:29:35 5268 -18028 P -1.2268 0.5781 67.7S 8.7W 0
06089 -29 0560 Jun 09 21:18:56 5093 -17805 P -1.1512 0.7134 66.7S 122.7W 0
06135 -28 0578 Jun 21 04:06:31 4920 -17582 P -1.0745 0.8494 65.7S 124.2E 0
06181 -27 0596 Jul 01 10:54:33 4749 -17359 A- -0.9988 0.9827 64.7S 11.5E 0
06226 -26 0614 Jul 12 17:42:54 4578 -17136 A -0.9237 0.9722 43.7S 84.8W 22 259 02m41s
06271 -25 0632 Jul 23 00:35:01 4409 -16913 A -0.8522 0.9696 35.9S 170.9E 31 205 03m07s
06316 -24 0650 Aug 03 07:30:19 4242 -16690 A -0.7836 0.9660 30.9S 66.0E 38 193 03m34s
06363 -23 0668 Aug 13 14:31:17 4076 -16467 A -0.7202 0.9619 28.1S 40.3W 44 194 04m00s
06408 -22 0686 Aug 24 21:37:46 3913 -16244 A -0.6619 0.9573 26.8S 147.8W 48 202 04m27s
06452 -21 0704 Sep 04 04:52:06 3751 -16021 A -0.6104 0.9526 26.8S 102.8E 52 214 04m53s
06495 -20 0722 Sep 15 12:13:45 3592 -15798 A -0.5655 0.9477 28.0S 8.2W 55 228 05m19s
06537 -19 0740 Sep 25 19:42:24 3435 -15575 A -0.5269 0.9431 29.9S 120.9W 58 243 05m45s
06579 -18 0758 Oct 07 03:19:35 3280 -15352 A -0.4959 0.9385 32.6S 124.4E 60 259 06m12s
06620 -17 0776 Oct 17 11:03:26 3129 -15129 A -0.4712 0.9343 35.6S 8.5E 62 275 06m37s
06662 -16 0794 Oct 28 18:54:46 2980 -14906 A -0.4528 0.9305 38.8S 108.9W 63 290 07m02s
06703 -15 0812 Nov 08 02:49:59 2835 -14683 A -0.4381 0.9272 41.9S 133.5E 64 303 07m26s
06744 -14 0830 Nov 19 10:51:10 2694 -14460 A -0.4289 0.9245 44.7S 15.1E 64 314 07m47s
06783 -13 0848 Nov 29 18:54:07 2556 -14237 A -0.4215 0.9224 46.7S 102.8W 65 323 08m06s
06823 -12 0866 Dec 11 02:59:11 2421 -14014 A -0.4163 0.9210 47.9S 139.5E 65 329 08m22s
06863 -11 0884 Dec 21 11:02:39 2291 -13791 A -0.4102 0.9202 47.9S 22.5E 66 332 08m35s
06903 -10 0903 Jan 01 19:04:58 2165 -13568 A -0.4032 0.9202 46.6S 94.4W 66 331 08m45s
06943 -09 0921 Jan 12 03:02:26 2043 -13345 A -0.3925 0.9207 44.0S 149.1E 67 327 08m51s
06984 -08 0939 Jan 23 10:54:43 1926 -13122 A -0.3778 0.9219 40.3S 32.8E 68 319 08m56s
07025 -07 0957 Feb 02 18:39:45 1813 -12899 A -0.3573 0.9236 35.6S 82.9W 69 308 08m57s
07066 -06 0975 Feb 14 02:17:42 1705 -12676 A -0.3314 0.9258 30.2S 162.2E 70 296 08m56s
07108 -05 0993 Feb 24 09:45:28 1601 -12453 A -0.2971 0.9283 24.0S 49.0E 73 281 08m51s
07150 -04 1011 Mar 07 17:04:52 1501 -12230 A -0.2559 0.9311 17.3S 62.7W 75 266 08m44s
07192 -03 1029 Mar 18 00:14:06 1407 -12007 A -0.2064 0.9342 10.2S 172.3W 78 250 08m32s
07234 -02 1047 Mar 29 07:16:02 1317 -11784 A -0.1510 0.9373 2.9S 79.8E 81 236 08m15s
07278 -01 1065 Apr 08 14:06:48 1231 -11561 A -0.0864 0.9403 4.7N 25.3W 85 222 07m54s
07322 00 1083 Apr 19 20:52:17 1150 -11338 A -0.0173 0.9432 12.3N 128.8W 89 210 07m28s
07367 01 1101 Apr 30 03:29:14 1074 -11115 Am 0.0594 0.9459 20.0N 130.3E 86 200 06m57s
07412 02 1119 May 11 10:03:00 1002 -10892 A 0.1386 0.9484 27.4N 30.9E 82 192 06m24s
07457 03 1137 May 21 16:30:23 934 -10669 A 0.2236 0.9504 34.5N 66.0W 77 187 05m51s
07502 04 1155 Jun 01 22:57:44 870 -10446 A 0.3088 0.9520 41.1N 161.5W 72 185 05m19s
07547 05 1173 Jun 12 05:22:44 810 -10223 A 0.3966 0.9531 47.0N 105.1E 66 187 04m51s
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat Long Alt Width Dur.
s ° ° ° km
07593 06 1191 Jun 23 11:49:25 754 -10000 A 0.4833 0.9539 52.0N 13.2E 61 193 04m28s
07639 07 1209 Jul 03 18:17:42 702 -9777 A 0.5692 0.9540 55.8N 77.1W 55 204 04m11s
07685 08 1227 Jul 15 00:51:05 653 -9554 A 0.6512 0.9537 58.3N 167.2W 49 222 03m59s
07730 09 1245 Jul 25 07:29:42 607 -9331 A 0.7295 0.9528 59.6N 102.3E 43 251 03m52s
07774 10 1263 Aug 05 14:14:43 564 -9108 A 0.8030 0.9515 60.0N 10.2E 36 295 03m49s
07817 11 1281 Aug 15 21:07:56 524 -8885 A 0.8702 0.9497 59.9N 84.2W 29 370 03m50s
07860 12 1299 Aug 27 04:09:37 487 -8662 A 0.9311 0.9474 60.0N 180.0E 21 526 03m53s
07902 13 1317 Sep 06 11:21:05 452 -8439 An 0.9843 0.9439 60.9N 87.6E 9 - 03m55s
07943 14 1335 Sep 17 18:41:54 419 -8216 P 1.0305 0.9134 60.9N 12.4W 0
07984 15 1353 Sep 28 02:13:52 389 -7993 P 1.0684 0.8481 61.0N 134.1W 0
08025 16 1371 Oct 09 09:55:25 360 -7770 P 1.0990 0.7952 61.3N 101.7E 0
08067 17 1389 Oct 19 17:46:26 333 -7547 P 1.1226 0.7545 61.7N 25.0W 0
08107 18 1407 Oct 31 01:46:22 307 -7324 P 1.1398 0.7250 62.3N 154.0W 0
08147 19 1425 Nov 10 09:54:28 282 -7101 P 1.1506 0.7064 63.1N 74.8E 0
08187 20 1443 Nov 21 18:08:47 259 -6878 P 1.1575 0.6946 63.9N 58.2W 0
08227 21 1461 Dec 02 02:27:45 238 -6655 P 1.1614 0.6882 64.9N 167.3E 0
08267 22 1479 Dec 13 10:50:14 217 -6432 P 1.1630 0.6858 65.9N 31.5E 0
08307 23 1497 Dec 23 19:14:58 198 -6209 P 1.1634 0.6856 67.0N 105.2W 0
08349 24 1516 Jan 04 03:38:41 180 -5986 P 1.1652 0.6830 68.1N 117.7E 0
08390 25 1534 Jan 14 12:01:19 163 -5763 P 1.1685 0.6778 69.1N 19.7W 0
08431 26 1552 Jan 25 20:19:44 148 -5540 P 1.1760 0.6655 70.0N 156.6W 0
08472 27 1570 Feb 05 04:34:49 135 -5317 P 1.1866 0.6475 70.9N 66.6E 0
08513 28 1588 Feb 26 12:42:31 124 -5094 P 1.2038 0.6178 71.5N 68.8W 0
08554 29 1606 Mar 08 20:45:39 112 -4871 P 1.2253 0.5800 71.9N 156.4E 0
08596 30 1624 Mar 19 04:40:36 88 -4648 P 1.2540 0.5288 72.0N 23.5E 0
08641 31 1642 Mar 30 12:29:29 61 -4425 P 1.2884 0.4668 71.9N 108.0W 0
08686 32 1660 Apr 09 20:10:11 35 -4202 P 1.3301 0.3906 71.5N 122.9E 0
08732 33 1678 Apr 21 03:45:50 16 -3979 P 1.3765 0.3049 71.0N 4.5W 0
08777 34 1696 May 01 11:15:19 8 -3756 P 1.4286 0.2078 70.2N 129.8W 0
08822 35 1714 May 13 18:39:35 10 -3533 Pe 1.4856 0.1007 69.4N 106.9E 0
The Gregorian calendar is used for all dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates. The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions ). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..
The coordinates of the Sun used in these predictions are based on the VSOP87 theory [Bretagnon and Francou, 1988]. The Moon's coordinates are based on the ELP-2000/82 theory [Chapront-Touze and Chapront, 1983]. For more information, see: Solar and Lunar Ephemerides. The revised value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot = -25.858 arc-sec/cy*cy, as deduced from the Apollo lunar laser ranging experiment (Chapront, Chapront-Touze, and Francou, 2002).
The largest uncertainty in the eclipse predictions is caused by fluctuations in Earth's rotation due primarily to tidal friction of the Moon. The resultant drift in apparent clock time is expressed as ΔT and is determined as follows:
A series of polynomial expressions have been derived to simplify the evaluation of ΔT for any time from -1999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.
[1] The Moon's orbit is inclined about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. The points where the lunar orbit intersects the plane of Earth's orbit are known as the nodes. The Moon moves from south to north of Earth's orbit at the ascending node, and from north to south at the descending node.
[2]Central solar eclipses are eclipses in which the central axis of the Moon's shadow strikes the Earth's surface. All partial (penumbral) eclipses are non-central eclipses since the shadow axis misses Earth. However, umbral eclipses (total, annular and hybrid) may be either central (usually) or non-central (rarely).
[3]Hybrid eclipses are also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is both total and annular along different sections of its umbral path. For more information, see Five Millennium Catalog of Hybrid Solar Eclipses .
[4]Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is nearly equal to the instants of greatest magnitude and greatest duration. However, for annular eclipses, the instant of greatest duration may occur at either the time of greatest eclipse or near the sunrise and sunset points of the eclipse path.
The information presented on this web page is based on data published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. The individual global maps appearing in links (both GIF an animation) were extracted from full page plates appearing in Five Millennium Canon by Dan McGlaun. The Besselian elements were provided by Jean Meeus. Fred Espenak assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all eclipse calculations.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)"
